As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.”40And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:
22:1 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:
3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
We first saw it first hand in Kenya 10 years ago. The pastors and their wives were singing a hymn that had been translated from German – rich in theology and Christological truths. They did it justice. They sang it well. But the next hymn was native to their cadence, language imagery, and melodic harmonies. Oh my! It was like a whole other group was singing. Something within them was expressing the truth of God from deep within their souls. You could hear it in their voices and see it in their faces.
That’s called heart language. Heart language is the language we dream in. We speak to our lover in heart language. We express deep truth about God in heart language because we’ve heard these deep truths about God in our heart language. It doesn’t require translation. It doesn’t have to be worked through. It’s the colors the painter uses in her artwork. It’s the way the chef thinks about his food prep. It’s how we make our plans. It’s the way we think things through. It allows us to hear and express deeply held beliefs and hopes.
We see that here when Paul speaks first to the Roman soldier in Greek. The arrested one (Paul) arrests the soldier with his question. It gets his attention and alerts him to the fact that Paul is not the man he thought he was. His language gave him away. He’s not an Egyptian.
After expressing his bonafides to the soldier (born in Celicia, educated in Jerusalem, citizen), he will be given the opportunity to speak. But now he will speak in Hebrew – the heart language of the Jewish people from the temple. That got their attention. It was clear that they were listening for Luke reports that after an initial quieting of the crowd, when Paul begins to speak in Hebrew they become even quieter.
I can recall a few times, when preaching that the congregation got very quiet. I don’t believe it was that I had put them to sleep. I do believe that the Holy Spirit was speaking to them through my words – in their heart language. My approach to preaching is to seek entry for Christ into people’s hearts. I don’t typically use Greek or Hebrew words. I don’t try to wow people with my intellectual prowess. I seek to gain entry for Christ into people’s hearts. When that happens that is a very good thing.
One interesting note about this that has to do with the Greek language – the original language of the New Testament. The New Testament is written in koine Greek – the common language of the common man. God wants our hearts, so he speaks to us in our heart language. Engendering faith. Sustaining hope. Inspiring love.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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